Friday, 8 April 2011

Family History Writing Challenge - Day 27

Sometimes I can simply be overwhelmed with research. Which line do I pursue next? How do I focus on the line in hand rather than be distracted by a different line? Often I receive an email or a document which takes me off on the road of research and discovery then I receive another email or contact and that prompts me to perhaps look at that data so that I can answer the email. I then find that I get absorbed into that research that I take sometime before getting back to what I was originally researching. By the time I get back to the original material I have lost my thought process and need to review the data. Does that happen to you or am I just disorganised?

My plan for the last few years has been to get my house in order or to complete, no, start the process of genealogy housekeeping. I am shocking at filing the data back into the files. There are, so a former boss told me filers and pilers and I am a piler; and alas not an organised one!....and I have 25 years of genealogy notes to file. As the films say. I could be some time!

Each conversation with a relative, visit to the record office, note, thought, plan and tree drawn out whilst researching has been processed, file (or piled), stored and perhaps revisited and then stored somewhere in the depth of my study. I dread to think how much paper and ink or pencil lead that is. Of course the fundamental question is do I really need 6 copies of a record? Do I need every note book written since 1986?

Whats more frightening, is that 70% of the current paper & data mountain relates to my maternal genealogy, 10% relates to my Italian ancestry, 5% relates to my husband's genealogy, 15% relates to my two one name studies and my one place study. I haven't stopped researching yet, there are many, many more ancestors and records to read and research. Just where will it all end?

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About Me

I am a Surrey girl, who is very proud of her roots, which go back almost 300 years in Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire. I currently live in the West Country of England, but Surrey is always home! I am also half Italian and thus have an interest in Italian culture and genealogy.

After a career in pharmacy management spanning more than 20 years, I made the decision to look at my options as to where my professional life was heading. I wanted to expand my work portfolio within the training and writing arena; to utilise my historical and research skills along with other qualifications and years of experience. I created The Book of Me, Written by You back in the Autumn of 2012. It threads together the focus of my interests and qualifications. Enabling me to encourage others to think beyond the obvious as we analyse our own lives and those of our close family members.

Copyright

The material, both written and photographic on these pages is the copyright of Julie Goucher & Anglers Rest unless stated. Material on this site may be used for personal reference only. If you wish to use any of the material on this site for other means, please seek the written permission of Julie Goucher & Anglers Rest.